Green Party co-leader and Waveney Valley MP, Adrian Ramsay, praises Celia Hodson of Hey Girls on OBE

The co-founder of a multi-award-winning social enterprise has been congratulated on her OBE.

Green Party co-leader Adrian Ramsay visited Hey Girls in Diss to meet Celia Hodson, who was made an Officer of the British Empire for her work in tackling period poverty.

Hey Girls uses profits from its business operations to offer free sanitary products through its sister charity.

Every item sold pays for an item to be donated. It also has an mobile app where people can locate free, easily-accessible sanitary dispensers near them.

Mrs Hodson, who started Hey Girls in 2018 with her daughters, Kate Smith and Bec Shutt, was named in the King’s Birthday Honours list earlier this year.

Mr Ramsay, MP for Waveney Valley, said: “Hey Girls does brilliant work and I am really pleased that Celia has been publicly recognised for what she has achieved.”

During his visit, Mr Ramsay was told that, while Scotland and Northern Ireland offer state funding for women and girls facing period poverty, there is no such funding in England once a girl has left school.

He added: “Period poverty is a real issue for thousands of women and girls and one that could be easily addressed by the Government.

“I will be pushing ministers to extend the same rights to women and girls in England as their Scottish and Northern Irish sisters.”

In February, Hey Girls started to work with the Norfolk Community Foundation to provide disposable and reusable period products for free, which are being distributed through its 22 affordable food hubs.